AMD Phenom II X6 1090T Black Review

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AMD Phenom II X6 1090T Black

Supplier: AMD

Website: www.amd.com

ERP: R2, 999

If you are one of the people who are not convinced by multi-core processors and are adamant that no program needs more than two cores, then you should stop reading right about now. However if you’re one that embraces technology, be it beneficial now or in the future, 2010 has to be one of the best years in CPU technology in a long time. AMD and Intel have both introduced six core CPUs and both of them have been met with some excitement, rightfully so because six cores are really better than four.

No surprises then that AMD has brought out their first six core part, following several months after AMD introduced the Magny Cours (Istanbul) 12 core server CPU. This CPU internally was made up of two six core dies, and as such it would have been a painless process to produce a CPU with just a single six core die. AMD has done exactly that and what we end up with is half a Magny Cours CPU or, as we like to refer to it, the best thing to come out of AMD in recent history.

While it is true that not many programs right now are able to take advantage of more than four threads at any given time, it’s good to have them for those programs that are multi threaded which are increasingly becoming more common.

Before we take a look at the CPU itself and its performance, it is worth noting that this CPU was manufactured at Globalfoundries, which is going to be AMD’s primary manufacturing facility for both CPUs and GPUs going forward. The new Thuban core may still be manufactured on the older 45nm node, however several improvements have been made to the manufacturing process and proof of this is how, despite having two additional cores, the total TDP has remain...

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... on the X6.

Overall, this CPU presents even greater value for the power user than the Phenom II X4 did. Not only is it faster, it runs cooler, has Turbo Core technology, is highly overclockable and has an incredible price. There isn’t much more a CPU can be for the price and we couldn’t have asked for much more. If there was ever a time to truly go the AMD route for power users and overdclockers, this would be it, as AMD has managed to produce their best work since the advent of the Athlon64.

Reviewer: Neo Sibeko

Benchmark results

Award: Yes [Hardware]

Score: 8/10

Bottom line: The 1090T is the best performing and most exciting thing to happen to the AM3 platform since its advent.

Plus:

6 cores

Turbo Core

Price

Minus:

Low NB Speed

6MB L3

Specs:

Core: 45nm Thuban (x6)

Frequency: 3200MHz

Cache: 9MB Total (6MB L3)

Platform: AM2+/AM3

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